Trinamool councillor evades CID officers

After launching investigations into the Garden Reach incident, detectives of the criminal investigation department (CID) believe that Muqtar — accused in Tuesday’s incident — is still in the area while Muhammad Iqbal, alias Munna, also an accused, has escaped.

On Friday evening, a CID team went to Kolkata Police headquarters at Lalbazar to discuss the case with police officials.“According to intelligence we gather, it appeared that Muqtar has remained in his locality while Munna fled the area,” said a CID officer, on the condition of anonymity.

After taking charge of the investigation, CID went to the spot on Thursday night where they raided the homes of both the accused. On Friday afternoon, a CID team, headed by special inspector general (IG) Vineet Goel and other officers, visited the spot.

They visited the Garden Reach police station and then went to the spot near Harimohan Ghose College where sub-inspector Tapas Choudhury of Kolkata police, special branch, was gunned down on Tuesday. “We will do what we think is necessary for the sake of investigations. I will not disclose our plans,” said Sibaji Ghosh, additional director general of police, CID.

“There are so many lanes and by lanes in the area that we have to move on foot and not in cars. We are sure that Muqtar’s men are keeping a watch on our movements and keeping him updated, allowing him to change his location. We think that the Kolkata police also had to face the same problems,” said the CID official.

The duo stopped using mobile phones after cops started tracing them. Even their associates have stopped using mobiles in an attempt to evade the police. The houses in the area are packed so close to each other that the accused, a local, can easily hide any of the homes. “Both of them are influential in the area. So, building up sources is also a though task for us,” said a senior CID officer.

On Friday, some policemen were deployed at state urban development minister Firhad Hakim’s residence to stave off any confrontation. One Kolkata Police source said that if the CID arrests Iqbal, his followers might attack Hakim’s residence, due to which reason forces have been deployed there.